For a few seconds, Michael listened, and the words…they hurt his soul.
He was frozen in that spot, as it felt like something heavy was holding him in place. It was like fingers around his arm, anchoring him in place so that he’d have no choice but to bear witness to this.
It.
Scared.
Him.
“LET ME DIE! I LOST HIM, AND I’VE NEVER BEEN THE SAME. JUST PLEASE…LET ME GO. I CAN’TBE TORMENTED ANY MORE! I’VE PAID FOR MY SINS OVER AND OVER. JUST LET ME GO!”
The scream he ended with was terrifying.
From where Michael stood, he saw the pin fall from his fingers into the darkness.
It was his purple heart.
Michael had given it to him as a promise that one day, his honor would come through, and he’d marry him.
It disappeared, like the memories of all they’d once had.
As he was forced to watch it play out, that’s when Michael saw the intent. This wasn’t just an upset person screaming into the void. This was a person screaming goodbye.
When the bottle of Scotch dropped from his fingers, bouncing off of the rock and over the edge, Michael began moving.
The hand that held him released him, and he raced as fast as he could toward Graham.
It was as if everything around him moved in slow motion.
Graham began falling over the edge, making the choice to end his life. His arms were out, as he took the tumble from the boulder into the abyss.
Michael was fast, and as Graham started to disappear, falling into the dark void, Michael made a leap, grabbing his arm as he started to tumble.
When his fingers locked around the man’s wrist, he knew there was a possibility that Graham would take them both over the edge, but he still fought.
Oh, and he fought hard.
The jarring from Graham’s body weight sang up from his hand to his injured arm and then into his shoulder, but somehow, he was able to hold onto him.
That in itself was a miracle.
In that moment, he fought for Graham’s life, refusing to let him go.
Even if Graham wanted the exact opposite.
When he came to a halt, slamming against the rocky cliff wall, the man stared up at him.
“No!” he whispered. “I finally had the courage to do it. I finally had the courage to let go. Why did you save me? You could be rid of me forever!”
That made Michael’s heart pound in his chest. It was a quick lash of pain over the idea that this man hated himself so much that he thought that he would want him dead.
That was anything but the truth.
Instead, he did everything he could to keep the man with him.
Michael fought, his arm screaming as his heart hurt in ways he’d not expected it to. In that moment, he saw Graham’s lack of will to live, and it scared him. It made him question how much of a part did he play in all of this?
Did him disappearing after the ultimatum destroy another person’s life? A person he’d once loved more than anything in the whole world.
